Cranberry and Blueberry Poached Pears

Ingredients:

Method:

Carefully peel pears leaving stalks intact. Cut a thin slice off the bottom of each pear so as to make them stand better on the plate when serving.

Combine Cranberry and Blueberry spread, juice, water and cloves in a deep saucepan.

Sit the pears in the liquid, making sure they are fairly well covered by the liquid and not touching.

Bring to the boil, reduce heat and simmer covered for 45 minutes. Remove lid and continue cooking for approx another 30 minutes until pears are cooked and liquid has reduced, thickened and become syrupy.

Baste pears regularly especially as the syrup reduces.

Remove from heat and cool before serving.

Serve with dollops of cream or ice cream.

Note: This is a lovely light dessert always popular and goes particularly well in summer or after a heavy main course. If possible try and remove the whole cloves from the syrup after cooking. If you are really concerned about them and don’t want to use whole cloves just substitute with a good pinch of ground cloves. Blackcurrant syrup is readily available in supermarkets.